Three-way team tie as final day begins

What a day Saturday is going to be at the state tennis tournament.

With a stunning round of 16 and quarterfinal play in the books, it appears the team title won't be decided until the last match is completed.

Hinsdale Central, Stevenson and New Trier enter the final day of tennis at Hersey High School all even with 36 points each, with Glenbrook South thisclose at 33 points when semifinal matches begin today at the host site in Arlington Heights at 9 a.m.

The defending champion Red Devils took a severe hit in the quarterfinals when both of its 5-8 seeds Augie Bloom and Krishna Ravella were sent packing and into the consolation bracket, while their teammates Dan Ballantine-Ian Tesmond (36-1) held firm to their 1-2 seed with an impressive straight-set victory (6-3, 6-3) over 5-8 Downers Grove South (Rahul Komath-Brian Sorich, 30-2).

The Mustangs joined Neuqua Valley's Skeeter Plowman-Chase Perry in the consolation bracket, who in their opener on Friday but fell in 2 sets to 3-4 seed Belleville East (Drew Feder-Corey Stumne).

The Wildcats' duo is still alive and in the hunt for a fifth-place medal after victories over Moline and Lake Forest helped them advance into today's 8 a.m. match with the Mustangs at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect.

"Things just didn't click for us in our match with Belleville, and my returns were so bad," said Plowman.

"The thing is that I feel so bad for Chase because its his senior year and I wanted us to go as far as we could in the front draw (just) for him."

"That first service break in that second set really seemd to turn the tide of the match for us completely," added Feder, a two-time state medalist at singles.

A wonderful effort against 17-32 Highland Park (Ampn-Ruff) sent the Mustangs through to the Red Devils, but Komath-Sorich were unable to find their pace and the magic it used to defeat Highland Park.

"Our strength is at the net, and up until that match with Hindale we were putting away points (like) we always do," said Komath. "When they broke us and went up 3-0 in that second set, it was tough for us to get back in it after that."

Ballantine-Tesmond, defending its top seed, helped provide some great theatre for fans, players and coaches alike.

Stevenson junior Blake Bazarnik (27-1) won a key head-to-head with Ravella (34-3) in the quarters and the same time his teammate Bloom fell to 2008 singles champion Denis Bogatov in an important 8-point opportunity.

However, New Trier slipped as well when its top two players at singles, Robert Stineman and Andrew Skolnick, were bounced.

Skolnick lost in 2 sets to 1-2 seed Michael Moore (35-1, Glenbrook South) while the biggest surprise at singles thus far, Lake Zurich freshman Michael Rednicki (30-4) stunned 3-4 Stineman 6-1, 6-2.

Today it will be Moore vs. Bogatov and Redlicki against NSC rival Bazarnik.

In doubles side, 2008 runner-up and 1-2 seed Ross Putterman-David Packowitz from Stevenson used a rain delay to slow a charging Rockford Guilford (Austin Roos-Danny Park) 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (1) to not only remain in the front draw but give the Patriots 2 in the front draw, where all the major points remain.

Stevenson will take on 3-4 Glenbrook South (McNichols-Sellitto) with Hinsdale meeting New Trier (Beam-Jones) who came back to defeat the Feder-led Belleville West club 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Area players had long and successful runs come to end, but not after making an imprint on the tennis landscape on Friday.

Junior Jimmy Li (WW South) bowed out in the seventh round to 5-8 seed Ben Hoogland 6-3, 6-2 after winning to finish 6-2, while Kevin Bauman (Naperville Central), Collin McWethy (Oswego) and Fremd senior Kenta Shimizu were finished one round earlier than Li.

John Mittvich-David Johnson (St. Charles North) and Yasufumi Terada-Reid Mutschler (Naperville North) extended each of their seasons long into the tournament as well, with Mittvich-Johnson finally eliminated by 9-16 seed Hinsdale Central (Paul Cooper-Josh Sink) 7-5, 6-4 in the seventh round.

North went out one round earlier to the same Central club.

Two of the brightest and best stories in doubles from the area came from Palatine (Rafael Robles-Mikey Woolf) and the junior pair from St. Viator, Dean Tanglis-Taylor Blaney.

The Lions' season ended in the sixth round of the consolation bracket when Highland Park (Manci-Brint) came back to win in 3 sets 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.

"A 17-24 finish in their first tournament is something really to be proud of," said St. Viator coach Dan Tripamer.

The Lions' last 3 matches of the day each went 3 sets.

Robles-Woolf exited one round sooner than the Lions to finish its incredible post-season run at 3-2 over the 2 days after a 6-2, 6-1 defeat at the hands of a very good Moline club.

"We came back from being down in our match with Guilford to win (6-4, 4-6, 6-4) to stay alive, but Moline was very good. But it was still a fun ride," said Robles, who recently won the prestigious Heritage Merit Scholarship, a full-ride college scholarship given to just one student each year at the high school.

"Rafael came here 5 years ago with his family and took full advantage of his opportunities in both education and sports and became a success in the classroom and in tennis, and we are all proud of him," said his coach, Steve Pass.